Perfectly Innocent
by cassie glitter
Summary: Gloyd runs into a mopey Taffyta and helps her have a little more fun. Things go downward from there, at least for the other Sugar Rush characters. Gloyd/Taffyta, mostly friendship
1. Chapter 1

**I'm going to attempt a shipping fic. Never done this before, so bear with me.** **Also, this is Taffyta/Gloyd, and I'm pretty sure this is the first fic of them on FF. So, here we go.**

* * *

Taffyta was an innocent bystander.

She was minding her own business, casually walking around and thinking. Okay, so maybe it was more like feeling sorry for herself, but still. It really wasn't her fault. She didn't mean for him to run into her and start this whole downward spiral. No matter what anyone else says, she was _not_ the instigator. It was all him.

And when she says that he ran into her, she means it quite literally. He was going as fast as his feet could carry him, probably trying to get away from his latest angry victim. She wasn't paying attention and stepped out in front of his path, and he was unable to slow down in time. The impact sent them both tumbling into a heap. He didn't even say sorry before he was up again, ready to run off. Taffyta, however, was not prepared to let him off without an apology and grabbed his jacket hem.

"Gloyd Orangeboar! Don't you dare leave me here!" she yelled. Gloyd turned and glared at her, obviously anxious to run off. He didn't, though, because even he knew not to mess with a peeved Taffyta. Instead, he helped her up, albeit hastily and with more than a few grumbles.

"Sorry, Taff, but I really gotta go," he muttered. She narrowed her eyes, still completely unimpressed with him, and replied in a voice more sour than acid pops.

"That's _Taffyta_ to you, Orangeboar. Besides, what are you so worried about? Another prank backfire or something?"

His expression hardened. "Oh, is that how things are going to be, Muttonfudge? If you _must_ know, I seem to have gotten on your boyfriend's nerves again."

Taffyta's teeth clenched at the word 'boyfriend.' She knew exactly who he was talking about, since he always referred to Rancis as that when talking to her. It never bothered her before, but, well, things were different. Gloyd, apparently not noticing (or caring about) her annoyance, continued.

"And what's got you so bitter anyway? I mean, you're usually pretty mean, but this is different."

For a second, Taffyta thought she could hear a note of concern in his voice, but then she remembered that this was Gloyd. He only has two settings: annoying and insufferable.

"That's none of your business, Gum-wad. Now run off and hide like the little coward you are." She felt a moment of satisfaction when she saw his angry face, but it disappeared when he suddenly smirked.

"You know, Fudge-face, I don't think I will." He leaned against the nearest candy tree. "I think I'll just stay with you until you tell me what's going on."

"Don't you have something better to do? Weren't you just running away from someone?" she asked, realizing he was completely serious.

"I think I lost him. So, not, nothing better," he admitted, grin never wavering. They glared at each other for a moment before she huffed and sat on a gumdrop next to her.

"Fine. But will you leave once I tell you?" He nodded. It occurred to her that she could just lie, but she was fairly certain that Gloyd would know if she did. He'd always been pretty good at reading people, though he usually didn't use that talent for good. "Ever since Vanellope became President, Rancis and Candlehead barely speak to me. They act like I'm some sort of virus now." She glanced up to see Goyd's reaction, but his hair was over his eyes and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

Deciding that it was kind of nice to be able to tell someone this, she continued. "Now everyone is obsessed with getting on Vanellope's good side. I can understand trying to make up for what we did to her, but they're taking it way too far. They're just being suck-ups." She frowned and looked back at Gloyd. "You know?"

To her surprise, he nodded. "I get it. Rancis has been acting really weird. Everything's always about Vanellope now. He does't have any time for me and Swizz. He's stuck to her like gum. Swizz is okay, I guess, but he's kind of all over her, too." He looked thoughtful for a moment before his expression brightened. "I've got an idea."

"What would that be?" His mischievous look made her suspicious. What in the world was he thinking? He didn't offer up an answer and instead grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away, but he was way too excited about whatever it was he was planning on to let her go. He dragged her back the way he had come from, jittering with excitement.

When he stopped pulling her along, they were at a certain male racer's home. She frowned up at the peanut-butter cup house.

"What are we doing here, Gloyd?" She looked over at him, only to find him rummaging through his hat. He seemed to find what he wanted and held it up for her inspection. She blinked. "Where did you get a jar of cherry juice? And what do you even need it for?"

He grined wickedly. "Let's just say that Jubileena owed me. What we need it for is a bit more interesting." She's opened her mouth to protest the 'we,' but he cut her off. "Rancis uses hair gel to get that weird swirly hair thing. All we need to do is pour this into that gel and, _viola_, instant red hair-dye." He looked up at her for approval.

She took a second before answering. "Why exactly are we doing this?"

The look he gave her was almost innocent, like a little kid looking for parental appreciation. "Rancis is being a cavity, and we need to teach him a lesson. Are you in?" He gave her a puppy-dog look, and she slumped in defeat.

"Okay, whatever. But no one can know I helped you, got it?"

The smile he gave her was surprisingly genuine. "Secret's safe with me. Now, let's hurry! He'll be back soon." He ran off, so positive that she'd follow that he didn't even look back. She frowned at his retreating figure, contemplating the consequences.

And then she followed.

* * *

**I tried, and therefore no one should criticize me.**

**Just joking, I'd love to hear some feedback! Tell me what you think and how I could improve.**

**Also, about how the cherries could fit in Gloyd's hat: I have this headcannon that his hat is kind of like a player's inventory, how you can fit a ton of stuff in literally no space at all. Just thought it would be kind of funny, even though it probably wasn't.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the nice reviews! I'll try my best to keep this story going.**

**For the record, I'm a multshipper. I ship Gloyd/Vanellope, Rancis/Taffyta, and Rancis/Vanellope (the latter of which may come up in this story)**

* * *

_It has to be the adrenaline_, Taffyta thought as she ruan next to him, giggling the whole way. Taffyta does not giggle, unless it is in a demeaning way, so this was an odd experience to say the least. Something about sneaking into an old friend's home to get your revenge was pretty exhilarating, though not exactly moral. They didn't stop running until they were extremely far away, for no particular reason than for them to be slightly harder to blame.

"You think they'll figure it out?" she asked, trying to catch her breath. Gloyd grinned at her.

"Oh, definitely." Seeing her surprised look, he hastily continued, "Well, not your part in it, but everyone will know it was me. Who else would do that, you know?" She nodded, and they sat in a mutual silence for a while, trying to stop their erratic breathing.

Finally, Gloyd spoke up. "If only we could see his face when he finds out. I mean, can you imagine?" She could, and she actually laughed at the mental image. He joined in, and they started making fun of Rancis, which then turned into them jokingly complaining about every racer in Sugar Rush.

"Rancis is such a wuss!"

"Candlehead? More like _Air_head!"

"You know who's an airhead? Adorabeezle. She never knows what's going on around her. Just 'cause she's got a pretty face doesn't mean she can be an idiot."

"Snowanna thinks she's _so_ cool, emphasis on the_ thinks_."

"Crumbelina? Yeah, she sure _crumbles_ to pieces if anything goes wrong. I mean, get a grip!"

"Any guy who insists on being called 'the Swizz' is a load of malarkey."

"Minty can't do _anything_ without cheating. What a loser."

"What about Jubileena? She can barely think for herself. She's always doing what people tell her to. How boring!"

Taffyta felt kind of guilty about making fun of everyone, but talking about this with Gloyd was way too much fun. Unlike Rancis or Candlehead, Gloyd was actually really good at comebacks. He didn't just agree with her, he conversed with her. And she liked that- a lot. Without thinking, she continued their little mocking discussion.

"And then there's Vanellope. She's so full of herself since she became president, and she isn't even that good at it!"She grinned at Gloyd, but stopped short when she saw his expression. He wasn't snickering like he did at her other jabs, and she attempted to fix her mistake. "Oh, I mean- uh, she's, er, great. I was just-"

He cut her off with a loud guffaw, and once she got over her confusion she joined in. Once they stop, he smiled brightly at her.

"Sweet sugar, I've _never_ been able to do this with _anyone_. I always get yelled at for being mean. It's great, being able to be honest with someone." She nodded in agreement and returned his smile.

"We should do this again sometime."

"Definitely! But we'd better get home. Big race tomorrow and all."

She frowned and gave him a quizzical look. "You're not even in the race!" He snickered.

"Who said I was talking about _that_ race? Rancis is going to be _so_ mad tomorrow, and I'm gonna need to be fast on my feet to get away from him."

She giggled at his overly dramatic voice and shook her head. "Of course, how could I forget? Good luck with that."

"And good luck on your race, Taff." He bowed and left with a wave.

It wasn't until he was out of sight that she realized she hadn't corrected him when he called her Taff.

* * *

The next morning, almost all of the racers were standing around, waiting on a quarter alert. Only Rancis wasn't there yet, and only Taffyta and Gloyd had any idea as to why. In fact, when Taffyta tried to catch Gloyd's eye, he'd given her a quick, impish grin and mouthed 'just wait.' So that's exactly what she did.

She didn't have to wait long. Within a few second there was a loud scream, which caused everyone to turn their heads. To most of the racers' shock, they saw Rancis running toward them, looking livid.

And, oddly enough, red-headed.

Everyone then turned to Gloyd, who smiled innocently before taking off as fast as he could, jumping into his car and speeding away. Rancis made it to the other racers just in time to see a cloud of dust in the place that Gloyd once was.

"Rancis? What happened to you?" Vanellope asked, tilting her head to the side. Rancis didn't bother answering her.

"I'm gonna get that little fudge-up," Rancis said, breathing heavily. "Just look what he did to my hair!" He ran his fingers through his bright red hair. WHen he pulled away, his hand was stained with cherry juice. He ran to his cart, ready to follow Gloyd wherever he had gone to.

"Rancis, what are you doing! We have to have enough racers!" Vanellope called, but Rancis ignored her and raced off. Taffyta snickered.

"I guess he cares more about his precious hair than he does you, Miss President," Taffyta teased. Vanellope didn't answer and just stared after the two boys. Taffyta realized that Vanellope may not know that she'd been joking, and quickly tried to fix the mistake. "Uh, you know, we should probably get ready to race. No one will notice that they're gone. You could just pick someone to take Rancis's place in the roster..."

Vanellope sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Jubileena, you're in. Now let's go, the arcade's about to open." She turned to Swizz. "Once we're done, you can go searching for them. You're the only one who knows where to look." The Swizz nodded, obviously used to the task.

They all climbed into their karts, though all of them kept looking back at the two empty spots in the line-up.

* * *

Gloyd glanced at his rear-view mirror, scanning the area behind him for Rancis's kart. He didn't see it, but that didn't mean that much. He had to stay ahead, or, well, things might not end well for him. Rancis was easily angered about everything, but when it was about his hair...

Sure enough, Gloyd was soon able to hear the sound of another kart. He takes a quick left, going off road and away from Rancis. Unfortunately, Rancis had a lead foot and serious road rage when he was mad and rammed his kart into Gloyd's.

"Oh, _fudge_!" he yelled, trying to keep control of the kart. However, Gloyd had never been the best at control, and his kart was sent spinning into a candy dane tree. He braced for impact, and then-

BAM!

When Gloyd opened his, eyes, he saw a very irritated Rancis glaring down at him. He gave the other boy a weak grin and an even weaker response.

"Hey, buddy. How's it going? I love the hair..."

Rancis was obviously not amused. "How. Long. Will. It. Stay. In!?"

"Uh, maybe a few days. I wouldn't worry about it, though. You look better than ever!"

Gloyd realized he shouldn't have said that, but the look on Rancis's face was _so_ worth it.

* * *

**Ugh, this wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped it would be. Oh, well, I tried. Hopefully all of you liked it... Also, I'm sorry that it was pretty short. There'll be more, don't worry!**

**Thanks again for the reviews! They make me so unbelievably happy! If you'd be so kind as to tell me what you thought, I would be happy to hear it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This didn't turn out as good as I had hoped, so it might be a disappointment, especially since you've all had such a long wait. Sorry.**

* * *

When the races ended and the arcade closed, Swizzle wasn't the only one that went looking for Rancis and Gloyd.

Taffyta searched, too. She wasn't all that sure where Gloyd would go, but she knew Rancis. They'd been friends for fifteen years, so why shouldn't she?

She told herself she was just looking for Rancis, which was sort of true. He and Candlehead may have left her alone, but she couldn't get over them that easily. They were the only racers that she had had true affection for before Vanellope became President, the only people that she had ever really trusted. She tried to push them from her mind, but they had been part of every aspect of her life and now they were just _gone_, leaving an empty hole. And now she was trying to fill that gap, which was probably the reason she was already so attached to Gloyd.

Okay, so she'd admit it. She did like Gloyd, a lot (though as a friend). He was funny and interesting, and he really understood. She needed someone now, and he was the perfect candidate. So, yeah, she was looking for him, too. And, oddly enough, he was the one she found.

She was about to walk right past the site, but then she heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like her name. She turned sharply and there he was, grinning at her, looking bruised and battered (and awfully cute). He gave a little wave.

"Hey, Taff. How ya doin'?" He tried to pick himself up, but he winced and had to lie back down. "I, for one, am feeling _wonderful._"

She snorted, walking over to him. "Need some help?" He nodded, looking slightly embarrassed. She pulled him up, with minimal pain and only a few muttered complaints. "So, Rancis beat you up? I thought you were the tough guy." He chuckled.

"Yeah, well, you should see him." She raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything. He continued. "By the way, Rancis made me crash. My cart's seriously messed up, so I'm going to have to ride with you."

"I guess that means you can't race tomorrow," she said, causing him to shrug.

"Eh, I'll fix it. I just need to go grab some tools."

"So you need me to drop you off at your place? And probably tow your cart there, too?" He sent her a bright, oh-so sweet grin.

"How'd you guess?"

* * *

"Seriously?"

Taffyta's face was completely deadpan as she watched Gloyd jump from platform to candy platform in a very practiced, yet erratic, fashion. He was already healed, one of the many perks of being a video game character. He paused for a moment and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Shut up and come on, Fudge-face."

She sighed and grumbled, but followed anyway. She hesitated at the edge of the land for a second, but then willed herself to leap over the abyss and landed on a Reese's cup dais. She kept up with his rapid hopping for a while, but she inevitably slipped. She screamed, about to tumble into the darkness below them, but he reacted quickly and grabbed her arm, pulling her onto the giant cake slice he was on.

"Watch your step, Klutz. Just go where I go, okay?"

Taffyta glared at him, but followed his advice. It took about five more minutes, but they made it to the other side of the chasm without any other incidents. Once across she leaned over and attempted to catch her breath. Gloyd just grinned at her.

"Oh, come on, Taff. It really wasn't that bad. I think It's kind of fun, actually."

She glared up at him. "Do you do this everyday? Or is there another way around?" He snorted.

"There are other ways, but they're not nearly as easy. You should be thanking me. This is one of the less terrifying ways. Now, hurry up. I need those tools by tomorrow morning, or I won't even get a chance to race." He turned and walked down a long, winding path, surrounded by black licorice trees. The whole area looked surprisingly creepy, especially for a world made of candy. She shivered and ran to catch up to him, not wanting to be left alone in a place like this.

Gloyd's house wasn't much, just a little place made up of an assortment of candy. It certainly fit the haunted theme, though, since it looked kind of run-down and abandoned. Gloyd led her inside, suddenly stepping very carefully. She did so too, just to be safe. He turned toward her.

"Stay here for a minute. This place can be pretty dangerous, and I can't watch you the whole time." She nodded, and he ran off.

After he was gone, she wrapped her arms around herself and studied her surroundings. There were holes in the walls and half of the furniture was broken. She felt kind of sorry for Gloyd, since she was pretty sure the house was programmed to look bad. Of course, knowing Gloyd, he may have done this himself by accident. Either way, it really needed to be fixed. Maybe she could convince Vanellope to change the code or something.

While she had been lost in her thoughts, Gloyd had gotten what he needed. She glanced up once she heard him coming, and he gave her a confused look.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Your house is... kind of a mess." He looked around, seeming surprised at that observation.

"Really? I mean, it's always been like this. I guess I never noticed." He shook his head slightly before grabbing her arm. "Let's go. I was thinking..." He didn't continue and started to walk off, and she frowned but allowed him to pull her outside.

They eventually made it back to their carts. He promptly took his hat off and shook it, causing an odd assortment of objects to fall out. He gathered up the tools he needed while she examined the other objects.

"How do you manage to fit a fudging_ sword_ in your _hat_?"

He slid the creeper out from underneath the cart, giving her a blank look.

"I dunno. Hand me the 13 wrench, would you?"

She tossed him the tool, rolling her eyes. He flashed her a grin and slid back under his cart. She let him work in silence for a moment, but he grew bored quickly. It wasn't long before she heard his muffled voice.

"So, how was the racing?" He sounded sincerely interested, compelling her to give him a detailed report.

"Pretty interesting. Most players picked Vanellope, and I usually got second when she raced." Her voice sounded slightly bitter, but she perked up when she thought of the positives of the day. "I knocked Minty off the track once, and Adorabeezle got hit by one of my Sweet Seekers." She smirked. "Even hit Jubileena with a Cherry Bomb. How ironic is that?" They shared a quick laugh.

"Anyone pick you?" he asked. She nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

"Yeah, and they were pretty good. I lost to Vanellope once, but won the rest of the races easily." It was great when a player picked you, but your actions weren't as meaningful since it wasn't really you doing them. The racers didn't talk much of the achievements they had when under player influence, and Taffyta was no exception. She leaned against Gloyd's cart, sighing. She would ask about his little fight with Rancis, but they were so common that it really wasn't that interesting to talk about, even though she did want to know about Rancis's condition.

Gloyd' voice broke into her thoughts. "All done. Now, on to a more... entertaining topic." He stood up, dusting himself off. When he looked up at her, his face was one of complete playfulness. She perked up, feeling almost excited to hear his idea. "What do you think about bubblegum?"

* * *

An hour later they were racing away from Candlehead's house, trying to find a quick escape. Candlehead had actually been at home, so they had had to be extremely sneaky to trick her. It was exhilarating, and Taffyta finally understood why Swizzle, the adrenaline-junkie, always helped Gloyd with his more dangerous stunts.

They had elevated Candlehead's cart using the jacks Gloyd had in his hat. He had also produced huge wads of gum from the pumpkin headwear, though where he got them and why he had them Taffyta had no clue. They had stuck the gum on Candlehead's wheels and lowered the vehicle to the ground, successfully cementing it in place. There was no way that it would be moving anytime soon, and that would cause even Candlehead to go nutterbutters.

Suddenly she felt a jerk on her arm, and Gloyd pulled her behind a gigantic cake slice. He beamed at her, noticing her thrilled expression.

"Fun, right?" Her only reply was a laugh, and he joined in. The

Suddenly there was a noise, and they took a moment to stifle their laughter. She and Gloyd peered around their cake slice to see Candlehead jumping into her cart. She revved the engine and pressed the gas. The car lurched forward and then stuck, refusing to budge no matter how much Candlehead tried. Taffyta snickered, but Gloyd shushed her quickly.

There was a loud screech from Candlehead, then a dull thud and another yelp. Taffyta couldn't quite see what had happened, but Gloyd pitched forward in a fit of muffled laughter.

"What is it?" she hissed. Gloyd looked up at her, beaming, and wiped a tear from his eye. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper-shout.

"She kicked her kart and stubbed her toe. She's jumping around, just yelling!"

Taffyta grinned, trying to look around him to see. She accidentally leaned on him too much, causing him to lose his balance. They tumbled to the ground together with an unfortunately loud crash. Taffyta looked up, only to see Candlehead turning towards the sound. Taffyta gasped, scrambling up. Gloyd pushed himself up, too, and grabbed her hand. He dragged her away, towards their hidden karts. They both hastened to get into their vehicles, Candlehead's shouts and footsteps not far behind. They took off, both somehow subconsciously knowing where to go. They soon reached a fork in the road, and Taffyta went left, while Gloyd took off in the opposite direction.

They met up at Taffyta's house. Taffyta had taken the shorter route, and was sitting on her porch, catching her breath, when Gloyd pulled up. He stumbled out of his kart and over to her. They stared at each other for a moment, just processing what had happened.

It was Gloyd that started to laugh first.

Taffyta joined in a moment later, and they couldn't stop. It was hysterical merriment, loud and unrestrained. Taffyta wouldn't willingly admit it, but she was laughing so hard she was snorting and didn't care. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, laughing and leaning against each for support. And Taffyta _loved_ it, adored every second. She felt so alive, like she'd never been so excited and just happy in her life.

She never wanted this to end.

* * *

**Again, I'm sorry for any disappointment. This was actually really difficult to write, and I don't think I have a real grasp on Taffyta's character yet. If you guys have any ideas or helpful info, I'd love to hear it.**


End file.
